The Metropolitan Museum of Art possesses a remarkable collection of about 175 pastels by important American artists such as Mary Cassatt, James McNeill Whistler, Arthur G. Dove, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Because of their extreme fragility, these works are rarely exhibited and are never loaned to other institutions. The collection ranges from charming eighteenth-century pastel portraits to abstract works by twentieth-century modernists.

American Pastels, prepared under the supervision of Doreen Bolger, Curator in the Department of American Paintings and Sculpture, includes extensive entries for thirty-five pastels, all reproduced in full color. The catalogue opens with two indepth essays: "Revival & Revitalization" by Doreen Bolger and six graduate students from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, provides an art-historical overview of pastel painting in America from 1880 to 1930; "Materials & Techniques" by Marjorie Shelley, a Museum conservator, covers the technical aspects of the delicate medium.

A check list of the American pastels in the Museum's collection, illustrated with duotone reproductions of each work, concludes this volume, a valuable reference for all students of American art.

Heckscher, Morrison H. In Quest of Comfort: The Easy Chair in America. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971.

Howat, John K., and Dianne H. Pilgrim . American Impressionist and Realist Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1973.

Knotts, Benjamin. "Hands to Work and Hearts to God." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 1, no. 7 (March, 1943). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943.

Lanmon, Dwight P., with David B. Whitehouse. The Robert Lehman Collection. Vol. 11, Glass. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993.

Libin, Laurence. American Musical Instruments in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985.

Matson, Jessie. "Staffordshire and the American Trade." Metropolitan Museum of Art Staffordshire and the American Trade bulletin, New ser., v. 4, no. 3 (November, 1945). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1945.

Phipps, Elena. "Materials and Techniques in American Quilts and Coverlets," in Peck, Amelia, American Quilts and Coverlets in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and MQ Publications, pp. 214227. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007.

Phipps, Elena. Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "American Paintings in the Bequest of Richad De Wolfe Brixey." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 2, no. 9 (May, 1944). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944.

Tolles, Thayer, ed., catalogue by Donna J. Hassler, Joan M. Marter, and Thayer Tolles. American Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 2, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1865 and 1885. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.

Tolles, Thayer, ed., with Lauretta Dimmick, Donna J. Hassler, and Thayer Tolles. American Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born before 1865. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999.

Wees, Beth Carver with Medill Higgins Harvey. Early American Silver in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013.

Whitlum-Cooper, Francesca. "The Eighteenth-Century Pastel Portrait." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.

Titles by author (22)

Doreen Bolger

Print Titles

Avery, Kevin J., Oswaldo Rodriguez Roque, John K. Howat, Doreen Bolger Burke, and Catherine Hoover Voorsanger. American Paradise: The World of the Hudson River School. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987.

Bolger, Doreen, ed., with Marjorie Shelley. American Pastels in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989.

Bolger, Doreen. William M. Harnett. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992.

Burke, Doreen Bolger, et al. In Pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986.

Luhrs, Kathleen, ed., and Doreen Bolger Burke. American Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 3, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1846 and 1864. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980.

Spassky, Natalie, with Linda Bantel, Doreen Bolger Burke, Meg Perlman, and Amy L. Walsh. American Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 2, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born between 1816 and 1845. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985.

Weinberg, H. Barbara, Doreen Bolger, and David Park Curry. American Impressionism and Realism: The Painting of Modern Life, 1885–1915. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994.

Avery, Kevin J., with an essay by Marjorie Shelley, contributions by Claire A. Conway, and catalogue entries by Kevin J. Avery, Carrie Rebora Barratt, Elliot Bostwick Davis, Tracie Felker, Stephanie L. Herdrich, and Karl Kusserow. American Drawings and Watercolors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born before 1835. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002.

Bolger, Doreen, ed., with Marjorie Shelley. American Pastels in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989.

Herdrich, Stephanie L., and H. Barbara Weinberg, with Marjorie Shelley. American Drawings and Watercolors in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: John Singer Sargent. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.

Shelley, Marjorie, with contributions by members of the curatorial and conservation departments of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Care and Handling of Art Objects: Practices in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987.

Shelley, Marjorie. "'Splendid Mountain,' A Sketchbook by the Young John Singer Sargent." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 28 (1993). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993.